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Still a great computer and very high quality but seems a little less powerful for the price.

I have already reviewed the updated version of this laptop so I hope it's no problem to use in quotations the relevant information below and then at the bottom I'm going to point out a noticeable difference I found between the 2 models which I think is useful.

'As a big fan of Apple in general as a computer and owner of various Apple Laptops and Desktops I was already certain I would be receiving a extremely well built computer with the new Macbook Pro when I purchased it 2 weeks ago. From first opening the box before even switching on the computer you instantly notice the extremely sturdy build. It's an aluminium unibody and for a 15" laptop weighs a lot less than some of the others available on the market. It's by no means the lightest I've used but it is definitely portable enough that it wouldn't be too much to carry around. Straight out the box everything is ready installed you don't need to put in any discs or anything you can just open the computer switch it on and follow the on screen instructions. The 15 inch screen is the perfect size for any tasks I personally do a lot of design work and find it gives just the right amount of space to be able to navigate images without feeling like you need some extra space. The only problem with the glossy screen is that you sometimes can find yourself having to adjust the brightness quite often because sunlight can have quite an effect on the visibility. I previously owned a 13" macbook and for battery power I would say I would tend to get more battery power from that model but that's taking into consideration the laptop being a much less powerful model. I haven't played games on the computer but given the specification it would be perfectly capable to run them but I would imagine because of the high demand modern games have on the CPU chances are it would be more suited for gaming if you were somewhere you had a powerpoint as it would run the battery down fairly quickly. If using the computer for listening to music on about half volume with the screen on half brightness and just doing small tasks like word processing or internet browsing you would average about 6-7 hours of battery life, but if you were doing more challenging tasks like I use music editing software and stream videos online you could reduce the batter power to around 5-6 hours. If you were to further that even more by having the screen on full brightness and also having full brightness on the back lit keyboard you could be looking at around 4-5 hours possibly.'

I removed the section about the processor power because I actually currently own the 2.2GHZ i7 model which is perfect for me but when I bought this 2.0GHZ model in August 2011 I felt that it fell short a little on power considering the roughly £1550 price tag you pay to get the computer from Apple. Because of this I actually returned it after a while to replace it with an iMac desktop which I will be reviewing soon.I know that a laptop is never going to be as powerful as a desktop for a similar price but I actually had a £500 cheaper iMac and the increase in performance was vast.I know going from 2.0GHZ to 2.2GHZ seems like a very small increase but it was definitely noticeable I felt that even with smaller tasks on the computer if I was running many things at once it would begin to struggle a little bit which surprised me with such a high end computer.It still gets a high score because by no means was it a bad computer because of this I think it was more a case of being slightly underwhelmed at the power.Again I hope it's acceptable for me to use the quoted text from my other review above I just didn't want to repeat the exact same things as it's essentially the same computer with a processor upgrade.

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Expensive but Lush. You should get it!

Well all my life I have been a PC user and quite simply I think I have been missing out big time. Don't get me wrong Windows wasn't all that bad, however after a few months it would take 15 minutes for a windows computer to load up. The Macbook Pro is a complete different story. It's quick and easy to use. In fact I don't think I could ever go back. The reason I chose this very macbook is down to the fact that it has a big enough screen for general use and its not too slim like the air so I can't break it easily and you can use CDs and stuff which you cant with the macbook air. Turning it on or awaking it from sleep is very quick and you're using your mac within seconds. I have found all of the apps to be very useful and easy to use. The resolution is excellent and thus graphics of movies and games are magical. The design of the macbook is amazing. Its made to perfection and looks a masterpiece.

There are cons for everything and likewise the macbook does have some. Firstly the price is very high, so you have to be willing to pay a lot in order to experience. Some things which work in windows may not work on mac. And that's about it.

Finally, i believe if you're looking to spend £400-600 on a laptop, you might as well save up a bit and get this as it better than a lot of other high priced machines. You won't regret it.

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if you consider to buy laptop, i suggest you to put Apple MacBook Pro on the very top of your list.

Before I started to use this product I was using macbook white for two years. I was overall satisfied with my macbook white. I had these overheat problem, very quick battery drain and the awkward feeling to type in darkness without illuminate keyboard was enough to help me decide that I need a new laptop.

I will always makes apple product as my priority pick as I feel comfortable using it. I decide to buy a new macbook pro as it is obvious that the best apple laptop currently is the macbook pro.

Design and Appearance The aluminum body makes this product looks very smart and futuristic if compared to the plastic body that used by other laptop products. The multi-touch trackpad that I love the most is still there. As I expected, the backlit keyboard really helped me to type in the dark as the button illuminates when pressed. The FireWire and Thunderbolt ports as well as the card slot which was missing on my macbook white are all very helpful to perform a much faster data transfer.

Graphics The high-resolution display makes opening pictures, videos or playing games feels like a stunning experience. It's just brilliant.

PerformanceI personally feels that the speed in processing perhaps twice as fast compared to macbook white. So far I never had a crash or errors. the overheat problem was a past for me. I regularly play Call of Duty and Football Manager 2011 on this laptop and I have to say that I was really impressed that it runs flawlessly all the time without any problems. The battery can last usually for 7 hours on normal use, but it last shorter on active wi-fi connection or watching DVD.

SoftwareThere are some software that I previously used in snow leopard now incompatible in Lion. But I think it's just a matter of time before the developers get it right for the OS X Lion as it is a still relatively new OS. with the facetime application I can now make a video call with the high resolution camera to my friends who is also using a macbook, iphone and even ipad.

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Beautiful machine. I highly reccomend it.

The 2011 Macbook Pro. I took the plunge and ordered this in February just after release. I was on the hunt for a replacement for my Core2 Duo Desktop which was fading into the background.

PerformanceAs you'd expect this machine runs like a slippery eel covered in KY jelly down a drainpipe. It is lightning fast.

The new Intel Sandy Bridge processor really kicks off, and applications run smoothly, the machine boots in under a minute, and shuts down almost instantly. I run adobe after effects, premiere, final cut, logic studio and other media production programs with ease. I can honestly say it runs like a dream.

The Intel Thunderbolt port is currently not really a huge thing, however displays are becoming available, and Thunderbolt hard drives offering VERY high speed date transfers will be more and more readily available. The future of storage?

GraphicsThis machine has the Intel HD3000 Graphics as opposed to last year's Nvidia chipset. While people will moan and groan it isn't that bad. I'm able to play Dirt3 in bootcamp just fine. Portal 2 runs smoothly. Crysis 2 was a little jolty to be fair, but overall it isn't a gaming machine. if you're after a performance machine in that field consider Alienware.

Build QualityThis thing is nice. Unibody aluminium chassis. glass touchpad. it looks good, feels good, and is good to use. i can't really say anymore than that. The keyboard is very comfortable. Apple also offer various mice if you prefer to use a mouse. i just use a cheap trust mouse for audio/video editing, but i'm considering the apple magic mouse.

MediaAs i'm sure you're aware Macs are used by many graphic designers, used in music studios, used for special effects in films, and many other things.

There are a LOT of applications available, via the mac app store, and online. companies like Propellerhead, Steinberg, Adobe and many others offer media production software for macs, which are pricey, but very, very good.

Overall if you're debating the mac vs pc issue and aren't sure i can end by telling you that i now find windows 7 to be clunky and odd. OSX Lion runs smoothly, and once you get used to it you won't want to go back.

And if you do...... just make a bootcamp partition and install windows anyway. You can't lose.

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Superb product.

It is definitely the best thing I have ever bought. It is such fun to mess around on and easier to use than my old PC.

I ordered 4GB of RAM and a 250GB hard drive and it is perfect for my everyday needs (listening to music, surfing the web, checking emails and working).

The computer is very fast and the applications are very easy to use and fun. However, one of my favourite things about the MacBook Pro, and Macs in general, is that they get fewer viruses than PCs, in fact you are very likely to get one. This is because mots viruses are written for PCs and because it is impossible for the virus to download itself on to the computer.

As for word processing and using spreadsheets, I would say that the Microsoft versions are better quality than the Mac. Therefore, I would recommend buying these for Mac, rather than the standard Mac products (Pages, Keynote and Numbers).

The computer itself loos very good, is very light and thin. This makes the experience a lot better.